Radical preacher Anjem Choudary to be sentenced

FILE - This is a Friday, April 3, 2015 file photo of Anjem Choudary, a British Muslim social and political activist and spokesman for Islamist group, Islam4UK, speaks following prayers at the Central London Mosque in Regent's Park, London. Choudary nne of Britain's best-known radical preachers Tuesday Sept. 6, 2016 was sentenced to 5 ½ years in prison for encouraging support for the Islamic State group. The 49-year-old Choudary has been one of the best-known faces of radical Islam in Britain for years. ﻿ (AP Photo/Tim Ireland, File)
(The Associated Press)

LONDON – A radical preacher in Britain faces a decade in prison for encouraging support for the Islamic State group.

Anjem Choudary, a 49-year-old firebrand who has been one of the best-known faces of radical Islam in Britain for years, was convicted in July and is due to be sentenced on Tuesday. Authorities see him as a key voice radicalizing young Muslims.

He gained attention for headline-grabbing statements that provoked outrage but stayed within the bounds of the law, such as protesting outside the U.S. Embassy on the anniversary of Sept. 11.

But the London-born preacher ran into trouble in 2014 after his name appeared on an oath declaring the legitimacy of the "proclaimed Islamic Caliphate State."